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Rep. Jared Huffman this morning joined the growing chorus of Democrats calling on President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 nominee.

Huffman and three of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives publicly issued a joint statement urging Biden to “pass the torch” to a younger generation of party leaders.

Here’s the introductory message Huffman posted to social media, followed by the statement:

Thomas Paine famously said, “the times have found us.” I believe winning this election is a moral, democratic, and existential imperative. With that in mind, and with a firm belief that we can turn this around and win, here is the statement I am releasing this morning with three of my congressional colleagues:

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Joint Message to President Biden from Representatives Jared Huffman, Marc Veasey, Chuy Garcia, and Mark Pocan

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (CA-02), Marc Veasey (TX- 33), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), and Mark Pocan (WI-02) released a joint message to President Joe Biden:

“Mr. President, with great admiration for you personally, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and deep appreciation for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders. We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy, protect our alliances and the rules-based international order, and continue building on the strong foundation you have established over the past four years.

“At this point, however, we must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign. These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change. We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House. Democrats have a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who you have lifted up, empowered, and prepared for this moment. Passing the torch would fundamentally change the trajectory of the campaign. It would reinvigorate the race and infuse Democrats with enthusiasm and momentum heading into our convention next month. Mr. President, you have always put our country and our values first. We call on you to do it once again, so that we can come together and save the country we love.”